UNHCR [to 15 March 2014]

Press Releases and Latest News
UNHCR condemns deadly attack in Homs on collective shelter
Press Releases, 15 March 2014
UNHCR learned this morning of an attack in Homs that has resulted in one death and others being wounded at a shelter in which scores of evacuees are being held.
The attack on the Al Andalus collective shelter – an abandoned school – occurred just after midnight local time, when mortars hit a wall. A local resident was killed, and some 10 people in the centre were wounded. All were hospitalized. UNHCR is awaiting further word on their conditions and those of others still in the shelter.

“We are taking this extremely seriously,” said Amin Awad, UNHCR’s Director for the Middle East and North Africa. “All parties to Syria’s conflict have obligations under international law relating to the protection of people not involved in the conflict.

In early-mid February, UN staff and volunteers from the Syrian Arab Red Crescent assisted more than 1,400 people to leave the Old City of Homs during a three-day “humanitarian pause”. However not everyone was able to leave, and 336 men and boys were kept behind at the Al Andalus centre for screening.

Information on the attack is still sparse. It is not fully clear at this stage whether the shelter was deliberately targeted and who the perpetrators were…

Syria tops world list for forcibly displaced after three years of conflict
More than 2.56 million Syrians have registered or are waiting to register as refugees in neighbouring countries as the number of displaced inside Syria passes 6.5 million.

UNHCR addresses alarming health situation of refugees in Cameroon
Most of the new arrivals have spent weeks living in the bush without access to water and food and have walked great distances to reach safety in the eastern Cameroon.

Former Somali refugees raise funds in Canada to build pre-school in Dadaab
More than 400 children applied to enroll in the new school in Dagahaley camp, but there is currently only room for 140. The students include refugees and local Kenyan children.

UNHCR and partners distribute aid to conflict-affected in South Sudan’s Pariang County
UNHCR estimates the number of forcibly displaced people in the seven districts of Pariang County at about 20,000. So far, the refugee agency has given aid to almost 11,500.

UNHCR calls on the Americas to keep children on the run safe from violence
UNHCR’s “Children on the Run” report also urges governments to take action to keep children safe from rights abuses, violence and crime, and to ensure their access to asylum.
[see full treatment in Week in Review above]

Briefing Notes
Refugee information presented in twice-weekly press briefings in Geneva.

:: Cameroon: UNHCR stepping up aid to CAR refugees arriving in poor conditions

:: Boat tragedy involving refugees and migrants in the Gulf of Aden

:: Date set for new camp opening in Jordan

:: Deadly attacks reported in Nigeria’s Lake Chad region, more people fleeing

:: Displacement of people continues to rise in Anbar, Iraq

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UNHCR [to 15 March 2014]